The world’s largest foundry, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Ltd., is better known by its acronym TSMC. Its biggest customer is Apple, as the plant makes the tech giant’s A-series and M-series processors, among other chips. It also works with Qualcomm and MediaTek, among many other fabless chip designers.
While countries like the U.S. and China would like to become self-sufficient in the industry, the former may not be able to do so because of the costs involved in building a factory in the States.
The latter has been sanctioned by the former, preventing it from achieving self-sufficiency in the field. Taiwan’s Minister of Economic Affairs Kuo Tzu-hui felt compelled to make a statement in Taipei today, refuting comments made last month by Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump.
Trump’s comments, quoted in the July 16 edition of Bloomberg Business Week, said: “Taiwan took away our chip business. I mean, how stupid are we? They took away our entire chip business. They’re incredibly rich.”
“Of course, Taiwan is not stealing the chip industry from the U.S. The chips we make are ordered by U.S. companies, which still have the highest gross profit margins. Trump may have some misunderstandings on such issues, and we will clarify them.” Kuo Tzu-hui, Taiwan’s economic minister
Minister Kuo attributed the issue to a misunderstanding on Trump’s part, which he stated would be clarified. When the Republican candidate’s comments were made public in July, officials in Taiwan expressed concern that if Trump were to regain the presidency, he might not be as dedicated to defending Taiwan against a potential attack from China.
Beijing insists that there is only one China, and it does not include Taiwan. A successful military assault on Taiwan would also bring TSMC under China’s control.
Taiwanese officials are apprehensive that Trump’s approach is driven by transactional relationships.
They worry that if he were to return to the presidency, the U.S. might retract the commitments made by President Joe Biden to assist Taiwan in defending against China unless Taiwan compensates the U.S. for its protection.
Trump has previously suggested that Taiwan could pay the U.S. for defense against China, prompting Taiwan’s Premier Cho Jung-tai to remark in July, “It’s our shared responsibility and goal to maintain peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait and the Indo-Pacific region.”
It is worth noting that during the Trump administration, TSMC agreed to establish several semiconductor fabs in Arizona. The first of these was planned to commence operations this year, but a shortage of skilled workers in the U.S. has delayed its opening until 2025. This facility will manufacture chips using TSMC’s 4nm (N4) process technology.
In total, TSMC is expected to construct three fabs in Arizona, with the second set to open in 2028, focusing on advanced 3nm and 2nm chips. The third facility is projected to be operational by the end of the decade, producing 2nm and potentially even more advanced chips. Upon completion, these fabs will be the most technologically sophisticated semiconductor manufacturing plants in the U.S.
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